1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for energy distribution in a motor vehicle having a vehicle electrical power supply system with a battery and a generator and, more particularly, to an apparatus for energy distribution in a motor vehicle having a vehicle electrical power supply system with a battery, a generator regulated by a voltage regulator and a number of consumers and a control arrangement to which required information is fed from t he vehicle electrical power supply system for determining control variables and regulating variables for corresponding components of the vehicle electrical power supply system and/or internal combustion engine. 2. Prior Art
At present, supplying power to electric consumers in a motor vehicle increasingly presents a problem because the number and power consumption of the electric consumers in the vehicle are constantly increasing. At the same time, the available energy that is generated by means of a three-phase generator regulated by a voltage regulator cannot be increased to any desired extent because certain defaults or presets must be adhered to with respect to the size of the generator and its effects on the internal combustion engine driving it. In order to enable a reliable power supply of the electric consumers, various measures are currently implemented which either lead to an increase in output in the electrical energy delivered by the generator or which ensure that electric consumers which are not safety-related will be shut off at least temporarily in the event of critical energy supply so as to enable a reduction in the electric energy to be made available.
An energy supply system for the electric consumers in a motor vehicle in which it is suggested to switch electric consumers depending on the driving state is known from EP-0 601 300 B1. In the vehicle supply system described in this reference, the electric energy is generated in a conventional manner by a three-phase generator which is driven by the internal combustion engine. In order to save fuel, the internal combustion engine is turned off when the vehicle is stopped. Accordingly, no electric energy is generated by the generator during this time. On the other hand, in different driving states electrical energy which is used to charge the vehicle battery and to supply the electric consumers is generated in the customary manner. In order to achieve a reliable energy supply for operation-related electric consumers regardless of the driving state, a strategy for supplying electric consumers is pursued with the aid of a control device which communicates with various sensors and switches and which can influence electric actuators and display devices, wherein consumers are switched on and off automatically when the control device detects certain driving states. The hierarchy in which consumers are switched on and off is selected in such a way that unessential consumers are switched off first and consumers required for operation or related to safety are not switched off at all. In certain driving states, the electric energy is supplied by the vehicle battery or by an auxiliary battery which is uncoupled from the vehicle battery.
In the known energy supply in a vehicle supply system, the driving states are assumed to be given and not subject to influence and, in order to ensure adequate supply of energy to electric consumers, and it is stated only that groups of electric consumers are switched on or off corresponding to the detected driving state. However, influence is exerted on the internal combustion engine depending on the required electric output.